Yeah, that’s the reason.
The University of Georgia’s Red & Black reports on a lecture by Enrique Neblett Jr., an associate professor of psychology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, who has researched black college students and their mental health.
But he also claims their physical health suffers from racism:
His study built on previous evidence that racism is tied with anxiety, depression, high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease (among others) and tested what role racism plays in the development of risk factors that cause these diseases.
“When African American youth are going to college and leaving home, their parents are no longer right there,” Neblett said. “Youth are thinking about their identity and may experience race discrimination for the first time. Experiencing racism might lead to compromised health. For example, some students will cope by eating fatty snacks.”
And I thought binging on ice cream was something every freshman did, regardless of their skin color.
Neblett made his subjects “listen to short scenarios in which a subtle act of racism was described, such as an African American individual being passed over when waiting in line, or a blatant act of racism, such as being called a racial slur,” and also categorized them by “ideology” – such as “assimilationist,” “humanist” and “race-focused.”
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